Characteristics of Citizens and Their Use of Teleconsultations in Primary Care in the Catalan Public Health System Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Descriptive Cross-sectional Study
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: eConsulta-that is, asynchronous, two-way teleconsultation in primary care-is one of the most important telemedicine developments in the Catalan public health system, a service that has been heavily boosted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital to know the characteristics of its users in order to be able to meet their needs and understand the coverage of this service in a context where there is reduced accessibility to the health system. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the profile of the citizens who use the eConsulta tool and the reasons for their use, as well as to gain an understanding of the elements that characterize their decision to use it while distinguishing between those who used it before and those who have used it since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A descriptive, observational study based on administrative data was performed. This study differentiates between the COVID-19 pandemic era and the period preceding it, considering the day the state of emergency was declared in Spain (ie, March 12, 2020) as the cut-off point. It also differentiates between eConsulta users who send messages and those who only receive them. RESULTS: During the pandemic, the number of unique users of this teleconsultation service had almost tripled, with up to 33.10 visits per 1000 inhabitants per month reported in the first three months. For the two user profiles analyzed, most users since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak were predominantly female, systematically younger, more actively employed, and with less complex pathologies. Furthermore, eConsulta users received more messages proactively from the health professionals. There was also a relative decrease in the number of conversations initiated by higher-income urban users and an increase in conversations initiated by users in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to generalize the use of telemedicine as a tool to compensate, to some extent, for the decline in face-to-face visits, especially among younger citizens in Catalonia. Telemedicine has made it possible to maintain contact between citizens and the health care system in the context of maximum complexity.
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One study found 70.88% of users avoided face-to-face primary care during the pandemic, with e-consultation rates increasing from 5.61 per 1000 patients in March 2020 to 33.1 per 1000 patients in June 2020 in one healthcare system.
“One study found 70.88% of users avoided face-to-face primary care during the pandemic, 30 with e-consultation rates increasing from 5.61 per 1000 patients in March 2020 to 33.1 per 1000 patients in June 2020 in one healthcare system. 28”
From Effectiveness and safety of asynchronous telemedicine consultations in general practice: a systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
The Results report an increase in eConsulta use from 5.61 to 33.10 visits per 1000 inhabitants per month. Those figures compare the pre-pandemic period with the first three months of the pandemic, not March 2020 with June 2020. The separate 70.88% statement carries a different citation and is not assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.90)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAverage asynchronous telemedicine users during the pandemic were younger, more likely to be employed, and had fewer chronic diseases than average users before the pandemic, and the gap between numbers of female and male users increased.
“Average asynchronous telemedicine users during the pandemic were younger, more likely to be employed. and had fewer chronic diseases than average users before the pandemic, 28 and the gap between numbers of female and male users increased. 26”
From Effectiveness and safety of asynchronous telemedicine consultations in general practice: a systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
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References 21 · Cited by 43
- Authors
- Solans, O., Vidal-Alaball, J., Roig Cabo, P., Mora, N., Coma, E., Bonet Simó, J. M., Hermosilla Pérez, E., Saigí-Rubió, F., Olmos Domínguez, C., Piera-Jiménez, J., Abizanda González, M., & López Seguí, F.
- Affiliations
- Institut Català de la Salut (ES)
- Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (ES)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2021-05-27
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e28629
- ISSN
- 1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8163495
- OpenAlex
- W3160669016
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 5
- FWCI
- 6.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Healthcare Systems and Technology
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Keywords
- teleconsultation, telemedicine, COVID-19 pandemic, primary care, user profiles, health care utilization, Catalonia, urban-rural differences, income inequality
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Delivery of Health Care, Disease Outbreaks, Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Primary Health Care, Public Health, Retrospective Studies, Spain, Time Factors, Remote Consultation, Pandemics
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